A roundup of some of the comments received this week in the GovExec.com Mailbag. All comments are presented in their original, unedited form.
On Panel: Pentagon should freeze hiring, slash management
About Time alrady! The military industrial boondoggle has gone out of control and bankrupting the country.
As a child I was taught waste-not-want-not. As a young adult on my first job I learned the hard way about buying what I could afford--and no more. As a Pentagon Manager I learned about Christmas is August when I could buy all sorts of neat stuff--whether we needed it or not--in order to protect next year's funds.
How do you transfer 340,000 jobs from active duty to civil service and do a 15% reduction in civil service? How about identifying what is acceptable to no longer be accomplished at the same time as cutting the bodies? Start identifying and cutting programs and processes, not just the bodies.
On Committee rejects $200M Yucca proposal
So we really do need lite rail but not alternative energy sources.
Remember that TV series '1999?" where all the nuclear waste had been 'stored' on the moon and something happened causing an 'explosion'' and the moon took off into space with the moon colonists on it? Isn't it about time to appropriate some monies to figure out how to transform that waste into something not harmful? Wherever its stored, its a problem that will still need to be addressed by future generations. In the show, we were living on the moon and hadn't bothered to figure it out yet, either. Linda Joy Adams
On Telework bill could be near tipping point
This is a beltway thing that will get pushed down on everyone and will cost more to run and mangement govt. I guess congress, again, know more about what we need than those on station. Ohter than unions who is asking for this?
I am for this bill however, I'm not in total agreement w/doling out notebook pc to employees who are not required to do frequent travel. That becomes a security issue. I do believe desktop stations in the home and at centers that allow for a vpn connection would work much better.
There has to be control of information, especially where personal data, financial data, and other sensitive data would be required.
Will believe this when I see it! Yes,for certain jobs were you constantly work with the public, telework has no meaning. But there are other jobs where you do not work with the public, and those personnel would greatly benefit from teleworking. However, until the military supervisers aer directed to support it - it will not happen within DoD. I only worked for one agency that supported it in the DC area, and that was DLA. Most of the military services do not support it.
On Oversight of war zone subcontractors is lacking, panel finds
Gee it took an auditing agency to do a study on this, the fact that NPR had a news flash this morning that our military can't find 6-8 billion dollars of US money appropriated by our government in re-building Iraq, we need a panel to study it??? How incompetent are we that we lose that much money and can't figure out what happened to it?
Try holding a prime contractor responsible for subcontractor cost control on a cost type contract and you will see very quickly were the problem lies, the lack of regulatory teeth due to the fact that the current regulations were written by industry. And if legislation is proposed to put effective oversight in place you can believe that republicans are going to scream like stuck pigs. They are, after all, bought and paid for by business, and will obstruct in every way possible.
On Defense races the clock on 2005 BRAC implementation
It seems a shame that our Army leaders chose to create such a disruption at a critical time. What were they thinking?
Past generations won world wars in less than five years w/o computers and this generation complains about reorganizing in five years.
On Hispanics, white women remain underrepresented in federal offices
When are we going to understand that stats don't tell the whole story. Sometimes you need skills and training to be hired for a job. If we're only hiring on race and gender, I have a 60 year old woman, masters degree in project management that needs a job. She's put in resume's, guess the hiring agencies didn't realize your fantasy...
Yet another prime example of why we cannot put prejudices aside and move on as a united nation. It is well past time to stop counting how many of this color, that race or this handicap represent the workforce; I would hope we are all considered, first and foremost, United States citizens. As long as we continue to focus on our differences, we will never achieve equality.
Whatever happened to hiring the most qualified applicants? If we are going to have quotas, we need to have quotas for EVERY group not just a select few.
Parity in the workforce is all well and good as long as there also is educational parity. Hiring solely to achieve racial/gender balance without considering educational background/experience will only doom the federal workforce to failure.
Quite frankly, I want a diversified workforce for my team. As a supervisor, that is just what I have, because the best ideas and creative minds come together based on difference, difference of experiences and diffince in points of view.
On Burning Question: How much do you make?
I think it's good to know what people make. Too many hide behind their salary or always complain when there's nothing to complain about. FAA employees make the same as Pharmacists and junior Executive leadership. Gives me something to shoot for.
Public employees in general and feds in particular are the true superior beings. Private sector grubs deserve lousey jobs and tiny salaries.
Everyone is my agency, GSA, knows what grade everyone else is (Ex: GS-12). It is a matter of common knowledge. However, we generally do not discuss what step people are within that grade.
As a federal and therefore a public employee/servant serving my country for over 50 years, I have no qualms about letting anyone know "how much I make" - the last word should be "earn" however! I earn every penny of what I am paid in Government Service. Those not in public service may of course keep their earnings a private matter.
I always get a kick out of people who quote figures such as $175,000. I will never see that as a government employee. I don't even know anyone who makes that much. Yet as an accountant with a master's degree and vast experience, I would probably make more than that in the private world. When I think of large wasted salaries, I think of CEOs and Wall Street.
On Obama orders agencies to increase employment of disabled workers
The key issues here are "reasonable accomodations" and "special efforts." By definition these are conflicting goals.
This is not possible. As long as DHS - Border Patrol, Dro, OI and OPR will never hire disabled workers. This stuff is totally a joke. The managers and supervisors want their favorite pests system.
We have a couple of GS-5 employees hired through disability appointments and they are running the show. They know they have the backup of unions and nobody can't touch them.
On Poll: Some feds are overpaid and underworked
No need to poll the public - provide non-attribution to any government employee and he/she would tell you the same thing...
Unfortunately, this seems to a norm in America. Inept people are still getting paid either because of cronyism or tenure, to include the highest office in the land. What has the U.S. came to? Millions of people are out of work yet favoritism rules.Its a shame. Look at the military, this is a prime example!
I whole heartedly agree with the subject. I am a government employee and I see individuals who "take up space" and are paid for it. The key is counseling and using the performance evaluation to accurately document employee's work performance and not based on popularity or "nice guy" stigma. Unfortunately leadership is not doing their job and the system then fails. It's not the performance based evaluation system, it's the true and actual documentation of poor performance that is lacking. That would definitely be the first step in "cleaning house" in efficiency.
Kind of a pointless survey. Half the public thinks the minimum wage is too high as well.
On When $200,000 becomes $200 million: The limits of federal spending data
An error, yes, but not the companies error. It does not control what federal agencies enter into the FPDS. That's the business of government officials.
On Streamlining payroll and other HR systems reaps financial dividends
No way this is true. They obviously forgot to factor in the cost of the wasted man hours from inefficiency, correcting errors, and a general lack of customer service. When you have HR personnel who don't know the basic functions or mission of the agency they "serve" you will always come out behind.
Another story of how well things work, right! I wonder if they kept all the surveys so I can check the true feelings of the employees who no longer know who they are talking to, where the centralized HR office is and when they will get a call back. The cool-aid is flowing strong these days.
On Outgoing OMB chief: Public has a point about government waste
I am so glad that somebody "up there" sees what we "down here" know is going on. Perhaps his team will do something about it without getting into trouble.
Orszag's comments about the Administration's push for technology improvements is all well and good. However, the most powerful CPU any employee has sits on his/her shoulders, not on a desk. How about some attention to the human part of creative thinking, broadening and deepening perceptual thinking, understanding and appreciating our "predictable irrationality" and its upsides? Whiz-bang web sites and attractive social media sites are no substitutes for a well-functioning (on all levels) mind.
On Phony firm at historic landmark makes the cut for small biz program
Prosecutors do not believe there is a victim! How about the US taxpayer. If there is no criminal prosecution, why would the government expect this activity to stop?
My company was recently decertified as a HUBZone although we meet all of the criteria and have been certified for years. SBA's approach to their inability to fulfill their responsibility of preforming proper investigations is to simply decertify companys. At the same time they are certifying new comapnies like the ones in this article. Who at SBA is being held accountable for their failures? Has anyone there lost their job or been disciplined for this poor performance?
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